MILFORD — On a weekday morning at 134 Old Gate Lane, the lot fills up early, the booths fill up next, and somebody’s server already knows how they take their coffee. Pop’s Family Restaurant has been feeding Milford since 1991, first from a doughnut counter on New Haven Avenue and, since 2013, from a building the family put up itself just off Exit 40. Its own tagline says it plainly: “Where friends meet and friends are made.”
Milford Voice Sponsor
From Kassos to the Bronx to New Haven Avenue
The story starts with Kostandinos “Gus” Grigoriadis. According to the restaurant’s own history, he left his hometown of Kassos, Greece, in 1975 at 17, “with only what he was wearing and no money in his pocket.” He settled in New York and started out washing dishes, working long hours alongside relatives who already ran diners there.
He met his wife, Julia, in 1978, and they married in 1979 and started a family in the Bronx, the Connecticut Post reported in a 2013 profile. In 1991 they moved with their three daughters to Milford, where Gus and a partner opened Pop’s Donuts at 587 New Haven Ave.
So who was Pop? Not Gus, at least not at first. The shop was named for his partner’s father, who made the doughnuts, Gus told the Post. “The kids, the grand kids, were always saying, ‘Pop makes the doughnuts,'” he said. “Now, I’m a father and grandfather. Now, I guess I’m Pop.”
“I thank God for Dunkin’ Donuts”
A few years in, Gus learned a Dunkin’ Donuts was opening right across the street. The restaurant’s history says he knew a doughnut shop couldn’t survive that fight, so he renovated and turned Pop’s into a breakfast and lunch restaurant. The partner was later bought out and moved back to Greece.
Looking back, he didn’t hold a grudge. “I thank God for Dunkin’ Donuts,” Gus told the Post in 2013. The switch meant he no longer had to go to work at 11 p.m. to get ready for the next morning’s rush.
By then Pop’s was serving more than 300 people a day on weekdays and more than 700 on weekends, the Post reported, and the family was also putting on a Thanksgiving dinner for people who couldn’t otherwise afford one.
A building of their own
After 22 years of leasing on New Haven Avenue, Gus wanted to own the property, and the family wanted to stay in Milford. They built the new restaurant at 134 Old Gate Lane, about half a mile away, and Pop’s moved in on July 8, 2013, according to the restaurant. It’s the tan-and-stone building with the red POP’S letters over the door.
It was a family project from the siding up. When a Post reporter visited the muddy construction site that January, Gus started explaining that he got to design the place the way he wanted, and Julia and daughter Virginia Kikis cut in. “Did you pick out the siding?” Julia asked him. “We’re picking out the siding.”
All three daughters, Virginia, Eleni and Ipakoi, had decided to make the restaurant their career after working there through high school and college, and Virginia’s husband, Sabatino Kikis, worked in the kitchen alongside Gus. “We just love the business,” Eleni said then, working the register and pouring coffee at the counter. “It’s fun, everyone becomes friends.”
| Sponsored Partner |
 Tired of scratched, stained boards? Meet the rustproof stainless oneMulti-purpose, easy to clean, rustproof and sturdy.ChopWell · See more › |
| Milford Voice may be paid a small commission on partner offers at no cost to you. |
What to order
Breakfast is served all day, and portions are big. Omelettes are made with four eggs and come with toast and potatoes. Prices below are from Pop’s online menu and specials list and can change.
Avocado Benedict ($16.49)
Poached eggs, avocado and tomato under hollandaise, with your choice of potatoes, pancakes or grits. It’s one of the dishes the restaurant lists as a “Pop’s Favorite.” The classic Eggs Benedict with Canadian bacon is $15.09.
Pancakes with fresh strawberries (from $9.10)
A full stack of three is $9.10, and toppings like fresh strawberries are $1.69 each. This fall there’s also a seasonal special, Pumpkin Pancakes layered with sweet mascarpone, pecans and powdered sugar ($14.29).
California Omelette ($15.59)
Turkey, avocado, tomato and cheese, with a side of fruit. There are more than a dozen omelettes, from a $10.59 cheese omelette to the Greek (gyro meat, spinach, feta, tomatoes and black olives) and the Pop’s Omelette with bacon, ham, sausage, potato and cheese, both $15.39.
Two eggs with homemade corned beef hash ($13.29)
Two eggs any style with the house corned beef hash, toast and potatoes. A side of the hash on its own is $7.49.
Homemade Meatloaf ($19.09)
The dinner plate comes with gravy, potatoes and vegetables. There’s a meatloaf sandwich, too, for $10.59.
Homemade Stuffed Peppers ($15.99)
On the current specials board, served with soup or salad.
Italian Stallion Burger ($14.99)
Another special: an 8-ounce burger with crispy prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, roasted peppers, arugula and pesto aioli on toasted artisan bread, with curly fries. The regular half-pound Angus burgers include the Texas Burger, a house favorite, from $14.09.
October’s fundraiser: Blackened Chicken Pasta ($17.99)
Each month Pop’s runs a “Fundraising Featured Item.” This October it’s penne with sun-dried tomatoes, spinach and blackened chicken in a parmesan cream sauce, and the restaurant says 50% of each order goes to the Beth-El Center, the Milford shelter and soup kitchen that just broke ground on its new home on Bridgeport Avenue. There’s one week left to order it.
What people say
Pop’s holds a 4.6-star rating on Google from more than 2,100 reviews. The same themes keep coming up: big plates, fair prices and a staff that treats you like a regular.
Great little place! Staff is amazing! We’ve had breakfast here and it was a large portion of food for a good price.
Soto, Google review
Nana was surprised by the size of the omelettes. “Portions are definitely huge, like their omelette is 4 eggs,” she wrote, adding that the rye bread “was so good with the butter” and her “server was super sweet.” She wants to come back for the pancakes.
Robert said Pop’s is “very reliable and delivers on what you expect,” and that the salmon “was amazing and cooked to perfection.” (The broiled salmon dinner is $24.29.)
My daughter spilled a glass of water, they immediately cleaned it with great patience and kindness, thank you for that.
Ale, Google review
A heads-up from Karina: it gets busy. She came on a Thursday and found the lot so full that “people made their own parking,” but once a spot opened up they were seated quickly. “Everybody enjoyed what they got,” she wrote.
Good to know before you go
- No reservations. Walk-ins only, so weekend mornings can mean a short wait.
- Weekday lunch specials run Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Weekend breakfast specials run Saturday and Sunday, 6 a.m. to 3 p.m., and come with a cup of coffee or tea.
- Beer and wine are served, and there’s a screened-in patio that opens when the weather allows.
- Kids are welcome, with a full kids’ menu, including a Mickey pancake.
- Catering: half trays serve 8 to 10 and full trays 18 to 20, from pancakes and scrambled eggs to baked ziti and chicken francaise.
You can order ahead for pickup on Pop’s website, which also handles its own delivery around Milford, or through Uber Eats.
POP’S FAMILY RESTAURANT AT A GLANCE
Where: 134 Old Gate Lane, Milford
Phone: (203) 876-1210
Hours: Sun.–Wed. 6 a.m.–8 p.m.; Thu.–Sat. 6 a.m.–9 p.m.
Since: 1991 (Old Gate Lane since July 2013)
Family: Founded by Gus and Julia Grigoriadis
Known for: Four-egg omelettes, all-day breakfast, homemade meatloaf and specials
Online: popsfamilyrestaurant.com
| More from our Sponsored Partners |
| Milford Voice may be paid a small commission on partner offers at no cost to you. |
Get Milford’s best stories first — subscribe to the free Milford Voice newsletter
Have a tip? Email news@milfordvoice.com
